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Vulgar Opinions: Cam Janssen Makes Dumb Comments (NSFW)

In case you missed it, a video was released of Cam Janssen, former Blue, current Devil, and St. Louis native appearing on the Thom and Jeff Show out of 105.7 The Point in St. Louis. I’d post video of the show, but it has been yanked off YouTube and other video sites, presumably because of some of the comments Janssen made.

I actually found the spot to be pretty entertaining. Cam Janssen is an honest guy who doesn’t seem to pull any punches. He talked about hitting, fighting, and tactics of intimidation in the NHL, including some of the things that players chirp each other for. After this dialogue had progressed for about ten minutes, the hosts then asked Janssen what would happen if a player had “sucked cock,” to which Janssen replied “If he sucked cock, he’s definitely getting his ass kicked.”

Well then.

I’ll give two schools of thought on this, and I think both have their fair share of validity. First; it’s clear that Janssen got caught up in the tough-guy myth he was concocting in talking about how awesome he is. I don’t think he had any idea of what he was saying and the hosts of the show caught him with an extremely loaded question at a time when he was very likely to say something stupid. Boy did he deliver. Second; Cam Janssen needs to be more cognizant of the words exiting his mouth and what he said was not only extremely stupid, but one of the worst anti-LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi, and Trans) comments that an athlete has made in recent memory.

Wayne Simmonds, Kobe Bryant, and Joakim Noah all dropped homophobic slurs that have (unfortunately) worked their way into our vernacular, and that’s bad enough, but Janssen actively advocated targeting LGBT individuals for their orientation. So while I won’t crucify him for being a vile homophobe (because I don’t think he is), I will absolutely rip him apart for his comments. Many of us LGBT were and still are targeted for our orientation. Many who aren’t LGBT were and still are targeted for their perceived orientation. In a world of Matthew Shepherds and Tyler Clementis and Anoka incidents, at the very least Janssen’s comments need to be highlighted and addressed because the sort of thing he joked about happens, and it happens a lot. Perpetuating it is inexcusable.

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